CLARK, NJ- The Arthur L. Johnson High School Crusaders and the Jonathan Dayton High School Bulldogs (Springfield) battled it out on the court, but after a strong push in the fourth quarter, the Bulldogs forced an extra period.
The Bulldogs hit two free throws with 17 seconds left to briefly recover and defeat the Crusaders 38-37 in overtime Tuesday night in Clark.
As the fourth quarter went along, Johnson led Dayton 30-24, but couldn’t withstand a strong offensive surge by the Bulldogs, with Michelle Bellino scoring seven points and Caity McTiernan connecting on two three-pointers to get the game knotted up at 33-33.
As overtime started, McTiernan drained a three-pointer to make it 36-33 Bulldogs with 2:43 left in the extra period. Johnson senior Bailey Rosenmeier knocked down a basket to cut the lead to 36-35 with 2:23 left in overtime. Sophomore Chelesa Kessock gave her team a 37-36 lead with 19 seconds left.
Bellino drained the go-ahead free throws to give her team the lead and ultimately the game.
“We have to move on. We have a ton of basketball ahead of us,” Johnson head coach Joe Marino said. “The girls know that we’re going to be in every game. We just have to finish.”
“We’re going to keep learning and moving on,” he added.
Kessock led Johnson with 16 points in the loss, while Rosenmeier finished with 11 points for her team.
Full Coverage of Johnson Girls Varsity Basketball vs. Jonathan Dayton HS Here
